Bai Mu found the Captain's Cabin. Gripping a smooth cobblestone, he violently smashed open the equipment inside.
Crash! The glass on the dials shattered all over the floor, exposing red, green, and black rubber wires from within the metal frames.
Of course, he had no idea what these wires were for. He was completely clueless about what kind of equipment a cruise ship should have, but he knew one thing for sure.
As long as a machine was driven by electricity, there would always be some commonalities.
Whether it was materials or parts, more often than not, a way could be found to adapt them for use in another machine.
As a man who had survived in an apocalypse for ten years, Bai Mu had learned a fundamental truth a long time ago.
If it works, it is good.
In many cases, there was no need for extreme precision.
It was not like he was building a rocket; close enough was good enough.
Holding an emptied toolbox, he ripped out the rubber wires and gathered all the parts, both large and small.
His busy demeanor made him look exactly like a professional scrap collector.
During this process, he discovered a machine that appeared to be a stationary radio. This thing looked much more advanced than the basic radios he had studied in the past. The buttons were complex, and there were more than ten dials. The labels and button markings were entirely in a foreign language, leaving him clueless about their meaning.
The special ability that allowed him to see text descriptions only identified it as "Abandoned Ship Equipment", with a simple description: "Broken ship equipment, can no longer be used."
The only thing he could understand was a large, striking red button.
It was labeled "DISTRESS". This button should have originally been sealed, but Bai Mu found scattered glass fragments nearby, suggesting someone had smashed the cover and pressed it.
It looked like an emergency alarm button. However, just like the other machines, this equipment had been soaked in seawater and was completely ruined. Bai Mu pressed it a few times, but there was absolutely no response.
Most of its parts had been corroded by the seawater. Bai Mu smashed it open without an ounce of pity, stripping out circuit boards, screws, and copper wires of all sizes, and stuffing them into his tool bag.
An unskilled person would have easily cut themselves and wasted a massive amount of time.
But by the time Bai Mu finished looting everything worth taking from the Captain's Cabin, the sun had not even reached its peak.
He had lost count of how many times he had done this kind of work during the early years of the apocalypse.
He transported these metal parts and materials to his tent in batches. For the rest of the day, he used pliers, scissors, and a screwdriver to dismantle the copper wires and components.
By evening, he had sorted and stored everything usable.
After roasting two smoked fish for dinner, he drifted off to sleep.
On the seventeenth day, he took out the air-dried walkie-talkie circuit board and attempted to repair it.
The rust and water stains on the circuit board had all been brushed away. He salvaged usable tiny components from the other circuit boards, pinching copper wires to bridge the broken connections, utterly focused on his solitary handiwork.
The good news was that the walkie-talkie's battery was still functional.
He patiently and slowly experimented, trying over and over, back and forth, splicing a wire here and inserting a small part there.
Although he had never systematically studied electrical engineering, relying on his years of practical experience, he generally knew what kind of structures could conduct electricity and what kind of parts could be used as substitutes.
On this utterly unremarkable deserted island, there were no extraneous matters to interrupt his work.
From dawn to dusk, from night to day, as long as he was not sleepy, he sat in front of his tent, studying that circuit board, trying to get it to work.
The two Guam rails had grown accustomed to his presence, huddling quietly in their nest without making a fuss.
In truth, Bai Mu had already untied the straw ropes from their legs, but the Guam rails still sat obediently, showing no intention of leaving.
After all, beside this human, they had free food to eat and a nest that sheltered them from the wind and rain.
For a small bird, never having to worry about food or drink, was this not a Paradise in its own right?
Thus, the sun rose and set, set and rose.
The unkempt Bai Mu grew a thick beard.
His hair covered his ears. His clothes were stained with mud, grease, and brown rust. He emanated a mixed scent of earthy grime and machine oil. Now, he looked like a complete savage, fully blending into his surroundings.
However, he cared nothing for his appearance. After prolonged efforts, he once again tenaciously connected the power supply and the circuit board to the walkie-talkie.
The crude screws, copper wires, and green circuit board were exposed to the sunlight, resembling internal organs, flesh, and bones beneath the skin.
Those large, rough, and calloused hands steadily connected the power source.
The long antenna salvaged from the mast stood at the highest point of the tent, wired to the walkie-talkie. With a sharp beep, the walkie-talkie's indicator light flared to life.
A success. Bai Mu heard the static crackle from the walkie-talkie.
He turned to look at the wooden board where he tallied the days. Four vertical strokes crossed by one long horizontal stroke made five days. Every evening at dinner, he made sure to carve a new mark.
It was already the twenty-fifth day. Ten days had passed since he discovered the stranded cruise ship.
He had spent ten whole days finally getting this walkie-talkie powered up.
In his vision, this scrapped radio device also received a new name:
[Name: Custom-Modified Marine Walkie-Talkie]
[Type: Electronic Device]
[Quality: Normal]
[Note: I reckon this thingamajig might actually work.]
A brief wave of joy bubbled up in his heart, but he did not relax just yet.
It was only powered on. He continued to troubleshoot, adjusting the antenna's position and packing the heavily modified circuit board back into its casing.
According to the Script's description, only five days remained for the Main Quest of surviving for thirty days.
The game would end in five days. He wanted to keep the walkie-talkie working for as long as possible before the deadline arrived.
Holding the walkie-talkie, he twisted the knob to tune the channels.
After trying for an entire afternoon, right around dusk, he actually heard a voice.
It was English spoken with a heavy foreign accent, accompanied by a lot of static. Bai Mu had no idea what the other party was saying. He could only use his own English, which had decayed over ten years, to attempt to ask, "Who are you?" and "Where are you from?"
He did not know if the other party understood him, but Bai Mu certainly could not understand a word they were saying.
Despite the language barrier, Bai Mu could comprehend the underlying emotions in their tone. He could hear the shock and excitement in the other person's voice.
To be honest, he was a little thrilled himself. After all, this was the first time in many years that he had made contact with another living, breathing human being.
After they went back and forth for over ten minutes, Bai Mu suddenly noticed a steel vessel sailing in from the horizon.
Over a dozen crew members in sailor uniforms gathered at the bow. They seemed to have spotted the stranded cruise ship, as well as Bai Mu on the beach, and began waving their hands.
These people wore decent clothes; every single one of them was exceptionally clean.
They looked astonished yet bore bright smiles. Bai Mu could sense their aura—an aura of people who had lived in a peaceful society for a long time. It seemed they were approaching with good intentions.